You should take into consideration that here in Finland we pay a lot of taxes. My average gross income is about 3.300 euros a month, but after tax and workers comp and other mandatory expenses I'm left with approximately 2.300 in net wages, which means I pay about 1.000 euros a month in taxes and expenses and that is with all the deductions I can make (travel between work and home for example).

For you to be able to provide for your family (in Migri's eyes, in reality you'll get by with less, but it may not be comfortable) you should land a job that pays a gross wage of 4.500 euros minimum, preferably more. With progressive taxation the more you earn, the more you pay out... People in the 6.000e a month bracket bring home about 4.500e in net wages monthly.

As for your housing, you will be able to find something tp accommodate your family for 1.000e a month, but it won't be in Helsinki, so you'll have to commute. Best bet would be looking at Vantaa alonside train routes, as this would accommodate both your rental cap and ease of commute. Commuting by public transport between Helsinki and Vantaa is approximately 110e a month.

Thank you, HannahBanana, for letting us know how it is working for you right now. As for commuting, we would like to use as much bike/public transportation as possible. Definitely it is not the same, I currently commute around 15km each way (about 10 miles) to work. But our weather is on average 26ºC with highs around 40ºC and lows around 10ºC. We have been monitoring Helsinki's temperatures for almost a year, so we will have to get used to the fact our readings will be like substracting 30ºC to our current temperatures, hehehe.

With regard to income, I have not found anything about wages for my profession, but I feel confident about I will find that "dream job", even if this takes a couple of years (I hope it doesn't!). We don't have a problem about paying a lot of taxes. We have heard and read that they are properly used in education, health, roads and a lot of other stuff, and that there is almost no corruption. Here in Mexico I pay about 28% tax over my "profit", plus 16% VAT on almost everything we purchase, plus another almost 10% on social security and housing (That just gives you the right to get a government mortgage with 16-20% variable rate interests). We also pay housing taxes, a special tax to commerce and another "payroll tax". The worst thing is that a lot of money just dissapears in the hands of government and we get nothing in return. Hopefully this gets better with the new government...

But that's not the only reason to leave. We did a research of almost every worth-living country in the last 2 years and we felt in love with Finland. It just sounds amazing on paper, videos, forums, blogs, images, etc!

Re: Moving from Mexico

Clearly the most important thing - and also the biggest hurdle - is getting a job. With all the expertise you may have you're still competing against loads of other viable applicants, most of whom do not need a visa or any other additional effort from the employer to hire them. Even though there being a constant demand, in the aftermath of heydays of Nokia, programmers/software designers with 15+ years of experience are in abundance.

It might be worth thinking about moving by yourself first, so that you know you will have a steady job (a trial period of a few months is common, unlikely to get fired during it but it's still a possibility), and only after that start arranging moving your family. That way, you will have also gathered first hand experience whether you actually want to stay. It's one thing to read all the stories and check the statistics about a country, compared to actually having lived there.

Clearly the most important thing - and also the biggest hurdle - is getting a job. With all the expertise you may have you're still competing against loads of other viable applicants, most of whom do not need a visa or any other additional effort from the employer to hire them. Even though there being a constant demand, in the aftermath of heydays of Nokia, programmers/software designers with 15+ years of experience are in abundance.

Thank you, FinnGuyHelsinki.
I agree with you. Definitely I need to get a job first. I am aware that I go behind Finns, EU and people with more experience than myself. Have you seen "Nemo"? We just don't want to have the job and be like "Now what?"

It might be worth thinking about moving by yourself first, so that you know you will have a steady job (a trial period of a few months is common, unlikely to get fired during it but it's still a possibility), and only after that start arranging moving your family. That way, you will have also gathered first hand experience whether you actually want to stay. It's one thing to read all the stories and check the statistics about a country, compared to actually having lived there.

We have never been separated more than a weekend. But you have a strong point and we agree with you, we are thinking about that and it's worth the sacrifice. It will also make it easier for me to gather the required money to move them while keeping our house in Mexico (we planned to sell it to get enough money). And it will be a lot of times better to look for a nice house/appartment without being worried about where my family stays while I'm working.

Been here for over a year, and I can tell you, it's all just a honey moon period the first few months being in Finland. Then reality sets in. Most of your tune WILL change once you begin t0 live here. Also you'll be a foreigner..so it wont be easy in some aspects, and you will certainly be faced to contend with the biggest elephant in the room: The Finnish Language. Lots of foreigners try to avoid it, but I advise not to.

To give you some idea: For me there is exactly one good constant about Finland: Transportation. You'll have those occasional buses that act like they need 500hr breaks and have you waiting there way longer than the time table suggests, but that's it.

Anything you've heard about Finns is true, but there is some exaggeration for sure. They'll talk to you, it wont always be short, but they will not bother you or anyone, and mind their business. Generally, but not necessarily all the time, the older the Finn, the less likely they know english.

The healthcare center is bad mainly due to the secretaries trying the best they can to not offer appointments: In other words, pay private companies, or hope to never get sick. This is for Helsinki though.

Compared to the US prices(I know nothing about Mexican prices): Nothing is cheap here. Tax on things is high. I've paid from 14 - 24% tax on goods(US is 6% where I'm from). But you don't have to account for taxes before hand as the math is already done on the price tags, so what you see, is the exact total.

Anyway, if you can manage your money well, and keep a job, I think you'll do fine living in Finland.

Been here for over a year, and I can tell you, it's all just a honey moon period the first few months being in Finland. Then reality sets in. Most of your tune WILL change once you begin t0 live here. Also you'll be a foreigner..so it wont be easy in some aspects, and you will certainly be faced to contend with the biggest elephant in the room: The Finnish Language. Lots of foreigners try to avoid it, but I advise not to.

To give you some idea: For me there is exactly one good constant about Finland: Transportation. You'll have those occasional buses that act like they need 500hr breaks and have you waiting there way longer than the time table suggests, but that's it.

Anything you've heard about Finns is true, but there is some exaggeration for sure. They'll talk to you, it wont always be short, but they will not bother you or anyone, and mind their business. Generally, but not necessarily all the time, the older the Finn, the less likely they know english.

The healthcare center is bad mainly due to the secretaries trying the best they can to not offer appointments: In other words, pay private companies, or hope to never get sick. This is for Helsinki though.

Compared to the US prices(I know nothing about Mexican prices): Nothing is cheap here. Tax on things is high. I've paid from 14 - 24% tax on goods(US is 6% where I'm from). But you don't have to account for taxes before hand as the math is already done on the price tags, so what you see, is the exact total.

Anyway, if you can manage your money well, and keep a job, I think you'll do fine living in Finland.

Thank you, Rasikko! I have moved about 25 times during my life (all in Mexico), so I am acustommed to changes. I currently speak 3 languages and understand another 2, and I am finding the process to learn finnish quite enjoyable. Even my children like it and now they count in finnish just for fun. We affectionately call Finland "The snow country", as none of us has never seen snow falling.

As for buses, I understand you. That's why I use a bike to commute to work, every single day, sunny or rainy.

With regard to healthcare, this is the first time I hear something bad about your system. Here it happens something like what you describe. It can take up to 2 months to get an appointment and once they check on you, it seems like the only drug they know about is paracetamol.

We have been considering Tampere also, thanks to the kind suggestion of another member of this forum. We all loved it! We were sticking to Helsinki mainly due to the weather and higher temperatures.

If we only had enough money to be there now! But we see ourselves in Finland soon. We are working hard to make it happen.

We have been considering Tampere also, thanks to the kind suggestion of another member of this forum. We all loved it! We were sticking to Helsinki mainly due to the weather and higher temperatures.

The difference in temperature is negligible, it's ~160km between the places, Helsinki is by the sea which has its own effect, but still, definitely there are numerous much more important issues to consider. Coming from Mexico, chances are that after - or even a couple of months into - the first winter you will sorely miss the weather you left behind.